Weight of Lies

Adrian's kiss. His touch. The lasting warmth of it still filled through her, like an electric current that refused to fade. She hadn't expected it. 

She had not wanted it. But there it was, taking over in her mind as she stood frozen in the entryway, her hand still on the door handle. 

The soft press of Adrian's lips, the heat of his body against hers... It was a mistake. She knew it was a mistake. But she couldn't deny the pull, the way it had felt like everything—had melted away in that moment.

She breathed out sharply, trying to shake the thoughts from her head. She had to focus. She had to go back to reality. But as she looked around, it felt like the world had shifted and she was left striving to keep her balance. 

Ethan would be home soon, and she couldn't afford to let him see the distraction inside her mind.

But the moment would not let her go. She couldn't stop thinking about it.

Lily threw her keys into the dish by the door and made her way to the kitchen. She needed something to distract her, something to take her mind off the moment that replayed in her head over and over again.

 But even as she searched through the cabinets, her thoughts shifted back to Adrian. 

His eyes had locked with hers in that office, a raise of something dangerous and familiar passing between them. 

She had pushed him away. She had pulled back the moment it happened, but the sensation of his lips could not leave her lips.

She ran a hand through her hair, frustration inside her.

She wasn't thinking about Ethan. She couldn't. She loved Ethan—didn't she? He was kind, steady, everything Adrian was not. But as the memories of Adrian's kiss was still on her mind, so did the unsureness.

The guilt tormented her, and the weight of betrayal settled heavily in her chest.

 She had betrayed Ethan by kissing another man And yet, she couldn't seem to rid herself of the attraction she still felt toward Adrian.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening.

"Lily?"

Ethan's voice broke through the quietness, and she froze, her heart skipping a beat. He sounded different—very tense, his tone sharper than usual.

"I'm here," she replied quickly, pushing away from the counter. She walked into the living room, forcing a smile onto her face. 

Ethan was standing just inside the door, his eyebrows raised, his expression a mix of concern and something else. Something that made her stomach turn.

"Where were you?" he asked, his voice steady but carrying a hidden anger inside.

Lily's chest tightened. She did not expect this. "I told you," she started, "I went to the office. Then, I had to run some errands."

But Ethan wasn't looking at her with the same trust he normally had. His eyes on her was sharp, his jaw clenched. "I called the office, Lily. They said you were not there."

Her throat went dry. She had never lied to him like this before. But the words, the truth, felt too heavy to say.

"I... I had to stop by the courthouse," she said, her voice shaky."There were some documents I needed to pick up. Nothing important."

His expression changed.. "You didn't tell me about the courthouse. Why didn't you mention that?" The words were calm, but the way he stood there—his body tense, his eyes searching hers—told a different story.

"I didn't think it was necessary," Lily said, but even as the words left her mouth, she knew how stupid they sounded. It felt like a weak excuse, and she saw the raise of suspicion in Ethan's eyes.

"You didn't think it was necessary?" His voice was more quiet now, a dangerous calm that sent a wave of unease through her. "What else aren't you telling me, Lily?"

She felt her heart beat faster . She couldn't tell him. Not about the marriage certificate. Not about Adrian. Not about what had happened between them in that office.

"I'm not hiding anything," she said, trying to keep her voice even, to hide the panic c that was crawling into her chest. "It was just paperwork. Nothing that's worth worrying over."

Ethan did not look convinced. He stepped closer, his eyes observing her face, his lips pressed in a thin line. "Lily..." His voice dropped lower, like he was speaking to someone he no longer recognized.

 "You've been acting strange. Distant. For days now."

Ethan had always been able to read her so well. It made her stomach turn, knowing she couldn't lie to him, not for long. But the guilt, the shame, the memories of Adrian's touch, held her captive. 

She couldn't let Ethan see it. She could not let him know about the kiss.he would never forgive her.

"Ethan, please," she whispered, her voice fading, her hands trembling. "I'm just stressed. Things have been... complicated. That's all."

"Complicated?" Ethan's voice rose, his frustration boiling over. "Complicated doesn't explain why you're lying to me, Lily. Why are you hiding things."

Lily's mind raced. She didn't know how to fix this. She didn't know how to make him understand that it wasn't about him. 

It wasn't even about the divorce, or the lies she had told. It was about Adrian—about the sudden feelings, about the temptation she had tried to push away.

"I'm not lying," she said, but her words felt weak. "I just... I don't want to talk about it right now. Please."

Ethan's eyes changed,but this time there was a sharpness in his gaze that had not been there before. "I don't understand why you can't just tell me the truth. Why are you shutting me out."

Lily closed her eyes, her heart aching. She could feel the distance between them growing taller with every word. "I'm not shutting you out, Ethan," she said, her voice like a whisper. "I just... need space."

But Ethan was not one to back down. He stepped even closer, his face mere inches from hers. His eyes, full of suspicion, seemed to pierce through her, searching for something she couldn't give him.

"You're lying," he said, his voice filled with frustration. "You're lying, and I can't stand it. I can't stand this distance between us anymore. I need to know what's going on."

Lily's breath caught in her throat, her chest tightening with the weight of the truth. How could she tell him? How could she explain what had happened with Adrian, how that one kiss had started raising something deep inside her? 

How could she tell him that she was torn between the man who had always been there for her and a man who she has no memory of marrying, but could not control her feelings for him. 

"I don't know what you want me to say," she whispered, her voice breaking.

Ethan stood there, looking at her for a long moment, the silence between them stretching until it felt unbearable. 

Then, he spoke again, his voice quieter now, but the hurt was unavoidable," Are you really sure you still want to get married to me"?

"I want you to tell me the truth, Lily. I want you to tell me why you're so far away from me."

And that was it. The weight of his words, the cold distance between them, broke something inside her. She couldn't keep lying. Not like this. Not to him.

"I—" She stopped herself, unable to go on.

"I just need to go outside and think," Ethan said, breaking through the tension. His voice was calm, almost too calm. "I need to figure out what's going on, what you're hiding. I don't know how to keep pretending that everything is okay."

And just like that, he turned away, walking toward the stairs. His footsteps making sounds in the silence, each one a reminder of the distance that had just grown between them. 

Lily just stood there , frozen, the weight of of the guilt of what she did pressing down on her. She had made her choice, but now the consequences were becoming all too real.

As she stood there, watching Ethan leave, the truth that she had tried to deny all day—the truth of Adrian's kiss, of the pull that had sparked something inside her—finally came crashing down on her. 

And she knew, deep down, that she couldn't escape it no matter how she tried.